If you ask how many plants in China? What their origin and characteristics? The only one can give the right answer with wide accepted credibility is Wu Zhengyi, a 92-year old botanist who was one of two winners of this year’s top science prize – The State Scientific and Technological Award.
The one of most renowned botanist in the world is a professor and director emeritus of Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) affiliated to Chinese Academy of Sciences. He devoted his life to research on Chinese and East Asia flora for more than 60 years.
Wu specializes in plant taxonomy, floristic geography, and the study of medicinal plants. He dubbed “the walking dictionary” because his knowledge of Latin names of plants species is more than 30,000, spread across the country, especially East China.
From 1958 to 2004 Wu editing Flora of China that consisting of 80 volumes, 50 million words and more than 5,000 images. According to award review committee, the book is the most comprehensive of its kind that characterizes plant species and distribution in China. The book also raised the reputation of Chinese botanical study in the world.
In 1999, Wu also received International Cosmos Prize, one of the most prestigious international prizes for botanist. Wu found and named more than a thousand plants, he publishing 1,766 new species and genuses as author or co-author.
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By the way in 2006, a famous book of flora of Indonesia was reprinted by Indonesian publisher. The tittle of the book is “Flora, for School in Indonesia”. The Flora was written by C.G.G.J. van Steenis et al, 1947 and translated to bahasa by Moeso Surjowinoto et al.
Reference : The Jakarta Post, Sunday, January 13, 2008
